1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a structure for attaching a pillar garnish of a long size for covering the surface of a pillar of a door section of an automobile, and more particularly to a structure for attaching a pillar garnish suitable for a case where a coefficient of linear expansion is different from that of a frame of a pillar.
2. Description of the Related Art
When members having different coefficients of linear expansion are attached, it is necessary to take into consideration the relief at the time of thermal expansion. For example, in a case where a pillar garnish formed of a resin is attached to a pillar of a door section formed of a metal, in a conventional method the pillar garnish is fitted to the frame of the pillar in such a manner as to be longitudinally slidable, clips are used to prevent the pillar garnish from coming off in directions other than the sliding direction and restrict its range of sliding in the sliding direction, and it has been the general practice to attach the pillar garnish to the frame by means of elongated holes and bolts having steps and make it longitudinally slidable.
However, since the shape of the frame of the pillar and the shape of the pillar garnish are not simple, the directions of their thermal expansion and contraction are not necessarily fixed due to the environment and the like. In particular, there are cases a gap is produced on the outer surface and the aesthetic feature is hence impaired due to the fact that it was impossible to grasp the expansion and contraction in the widthwise direction. In some cases, there is a risk that the pillar garnish can disadvantageously interfere with the door when it has undergone expansion.
The invention has been devised to overcome the above-described problem of the conventional art, and its object is to provide a structure for attaching a pillar garnish which, with a simple structure, makes it possible to prevent the pillar garnish from interfering with the door and the aesthetic feature of the outer surface (design feature) from becoming impaired.